People's opinions..

[pras870]

I graduated from high school last year, going to a local college here since I really don't feel the urge to move out of town. Now, with it being January I decided to stop by my old High School to help out with the Robotics program this year, since we all know you can't just stay away from FIRST . Well, I was just wondering if the current people here would have a problem with someone who graduated coming back and helping out on the team as a mentor? Guiding the younger people who are just coming into the program, and letting them know exactly what a great thing this is (it's so great i'm out of school and still feeling the urge to spend those late late nights building and problem solving.)

[KenWittlief]

not a problem at all - esp since you are going to college now

lots of teams have college student mentors - only restriction on you now is you are one of us (mentor) - not a student team member - you would not be able to participate on the team during the matches (cant be the driver or human player...).

BTW as a mentor you are still in the position where FIRST is a privaledge, not a right - Im senseing maybe there is some issue with the team, maybe you are feeling pushed back for some reason?

Talk to the mentors - get their opinion - officially college students ARE welcome to be mentors - but if you feel you have to justify your participating with the other adults on the team, you will have to work that out with them.

Also, some teams are sponsored by one business, and they only accept mentors from that organization (for liability and other reasons) - if your team falls into that catigory, you can be a mentor for another team in your area

and FIRST is ALWAYS looking for volunteers for regional events!

PS: Welcome back! :^)

[Swan217]

Originally Posted by pras870

Well, I was just wondering if the current people here would have a problem with someone who graduated coming back and helping out on the team as a mentor? Guiding the younger people who are just coming into the program, and letting them know exactly what a great thing this is (it's so great i'm out of school and still feeling the urge to spend those late late nights building and problem solving.)

Team 217 has two mentors (One of them me) that graduated and came back to help. We also have graduates that mentor on other teams like Purdue.
So, no. No problems. Just try and act as mature as the engineers [which may or may not be as mature as the high schoolers ]

[Chris Hibner]

Originally Posted by pras870

I graduated from high school last year, going to a local college here since I really don't feel the urge to move out of town. Now, with it being January I decided to stop by my old High School to help out with the Robotics program this year, since we all know you can't just stay away from FIRST . Well, I was just wondering if the current people here would have a problem with someone who graduated coming back and helping out on the team as a mentor? Guiding the younger people who are just coming into the program, and letting them know exactly what a great thing this is (it's so great i'm out of school and still feeling the urge to spend those late late nights building and problem solving.)

The first thing you need to do is talk to the team leader. Some teams may not allow this, mainly for legal reasons (i.e., if you end up in a relationship with one of the students and the parent sues, the sponsoring company could possibly be held liable since you are working on a project under their sponsorship.) This can get kind of sticky, and every team makes their own guidlines.

Also, if the sponsor is paying for all of the expenses, the sponsor may not agree to pay for expenses relating to one more person.

Anyway, there are pros and cons to the situation, therefore, talk to the team leader first to see how this would be handled on that particular team.

-Chris

[Swan217]

Why in Dean's name would somebody sue over a relationship?

[Tytus Gerrish]

while George Wallace was helping out on Spam In 2002 after his graduation and before colledge HE was Called A "Tweener"

[IMDWalrus]

Originally Posted by SwaDan

Why in Dean's name would somebody sue over a relationship?

I think he was referring to inappropriate relationships - think Michael Jackson.

In any case...I really don't see how this would be a problem. You'd have to talk to your team's leaders, but it's worth a shot. If worse comes to worse and they turn you down, there's probably another team out there somewhere that needs some help...

[George1902]

Originally Posted by Tytus Gerrish

while George Wallace was helping out on Spam In 2002 after his graduation and before colledge HE was Called A "Tweener"

Heh... Tytus is correct. They classified me as a "tweener" meaning I wasn't a student, but I wasn't exactly a mentor, either.

I think the way SPAM worked with me is a wonderful model of how to slowly work a student into a mentoring role. For the first couple of years after I graduated, I didn't have all the privileges of a mentor, but the team leaders didn't give me full-blown mentor responsibilities, either. It allowed me to observe. A lot. I saw how the adults worked with the students. I floated around more than I did as a student.

In 2002, I was given (I guess) more of a full mentor status. I had found my niche as a scouter and strategist and was able to help the team do some great things that year (do they ever *not* do great things? =-).

Before I get off on too much of a tangent, I'd like to send a little caveat to all college mentors, especially the freshman and sophomores. The most important thing for a young mentor to remember is this: it's not about us anymore. Make sure that the reason you're there is to help young people culture their intrests. Create a fun environment. If you and the other mentors aren't having fun, then the students will sense that and feed off of that negativity.

[RoboCoder]

Nearly all of our mentors are college students (thanks a lot GA Tech, Ann, Jeremy, and everybody!). In fact, this year we are just beginning to get a mentor or two from the engineering industry to help out a bit in the design process (Georgia Tech and its students are still our mentoring group). Since we are only a second year team (and only had one senior last year who didnt go to a local college), they aren't alumni of our team so to speak, but its proof that college students CAN make good mentors

As long as you get it cleared with the team/current mentors/sponsors etc, there should be no problem As was mentioned earlier though, if you're interested in designing and building your own robots, there are a ton of college competitions out there. FIRST is about the high school students, and your job would shift from designing and building the robot to guiding thought processes and supervising/advising on the construction. Anyway, it can still be a lot of fun so they say (hey, they're taking us back for another year arent they?). So, Have fun and good luck!

[pras870]

Originally Posted by Chris Hibner

The first thing you need to do is talk to the team leader. Some teams may not allow this, mainly for legal reasons (i.e., if you end up in a relationship with one of the students and the parent sues, the sponsoring company could possibly be held liable since you are working on a project under their sponsorship.) This can get kind of sticky, and every team makes their own guidlines.

Also, if the sponsor is paying for all of the expenses, the sponsor may not agree to pay for expenses relating to one more person.

Anyway, there are pros and cons to the situation, therefore, talk to the team leader first to see how this would be handled on that particular team.

-Chris

It's actually funny, the only member on the team currently that seems to have a problem with me being there this year is my ex-girlfriend. Everyone else on the team is glad that i've came back, especially our engineers/mentors that I formed a bond with over the past 2 years.